TAOTS s02
Text A few days later found Sol Seraph calmly striding into an imposing cathedral of stone and ironwood through the open front doors, completely ignoring the ponies to either side standing calm guard. They looked relaxed, but were anything but as they kept an eye out on the wide front lawn: a brick path that was flanked by statues of Pegasi and unicorns cut down the center of this to a heavy iron gate guarded by more ponies, but only children would be stupid enough to attempt to break into the Order of the Seraphim's base in Hoofston through the front gate. Not that they would have much luck even if they scaled or flew over the fifteen foot, spike-topped stone walls surrounding the building... there were constant patrols on staggered schedules, and guards ever watching the perimeter. Sol Seraph walked slowly into the spacious, immense main room of the cathedral: it still possessed all the beauty of its ancient architecture and high ceilings, but the rows of pews had long been torn out, and instead the Congregation Hall was filled with ponies of all shape and size, many of them in uniform like Sol herself: simple black clothing, and bracers locked around all four limbs, the color denoting their rank. Weapons were not permitted inside the Congregation Hall: those stupid enough to bring them in anyway were severely punished. Sol's bracers were red: Fourth rank. Once she had been as high as the Second rank, but that had been several years ago, and there had been several incidents resulting in her being punished and demoted. Sometimes, she thought of this with regret: not for herself, but because apparently the Order was unable to see the big picture and understand that what she had done had been for the benefit of all its members. She ignored the gathering of members of the Orders from various guilds: they all wore the same uniform here, it was only training and a sharp eye that could differentiate them from one another, and she wasn't interested in taking part in their songs, their exercises, or their rallies. Instead, she made her way to a heavy iron door at the side of the enormous cathedral room and shoved it open to let herself into a private rest area. Low light, two comfortable couches around a large table, and two ponies chatting calmly with a third Pegasus who was slowly polishing a small but dangerous-looking knife as he leaned against the wall. He glanced coldly up, but then gave a slight smile at the sight of Sol Seraph as the other ponies fell quiet and looked uneasily over their shoulders at her before the golden Pegasus simply flicked her head to the side. Both ponies hurriedly slipped out of the couch and made their way out, and Sol Seraph kicked the door closed behind her as she walked forwards, past the ornate fireplace that was there more for decoration than anything else as the other Pegasus said calmly: "Sister. So good to see you." "Brother." Sol Seraph acknowledged after a moment, bowing her head slightly to him: Mourning Wind, a First Rank member of the Phoenix Guild she had been partnered with on several occasions. An ally who she knew she could trust on a mission... she just didn't trust him much anywhere else. One of the few ponies she would permit to treat her as an equal, a 'sibling' in the Order. The stallion smiled as he flicked his two-tone white-and-black striped mane, silvery body covered by both a uniform as well as a tight rawhide bandolier. His eyes were like black gemstones, glinting cunningly: almost the same color as the bracers around his forelegs, denoting his elite rank. Mourning smiled calmly as he spun the knife around, then slipped it easily beneath one of his front bracers, hiding it from sight before he glanced moodily up as the Pegasus mare said quietly: "Weapons are not permitted in this place." "Oh, and since when did you decide to start following the rules, sister?" Mourning asked with a slight smile, before he asked almost mockingly as Sol Seraph strode towards him: "Or perhaps your sweet husband is rubbing off on you, is he?" "Please refrain from speaking of Ardor." Sol Seraph replied quietly, her eyes becoming cold as she felt that twist inside of her, as well as a feeling she recognized with much-greater ease: anger. "And that is not my concern, Mourning Wind. I am only curious as to why a First Rank would feel the need for a weapon into the Congregation Hall... it's as shameful as an adult carrying a security blanket." The stallion looked across at her moodily for a few moments, and then he flexed a hoof slowly against the ground as they glared at each other before the male asked abruptly: "How's your father?" "The Praetor is healthy, but old. He's off on what may be his last great hunt." Sol Seraph gave a thin smile. "A dragon. Specifically, a red dragon. Healthy, strong, full-adult. It will be worth a fortune. He plans to hunt and kill it himself." "You sound envious." Mourning Wind said softly, and Sol Seraph was silent before she gave a simple nod, making the stallion snort in entertainment. "Well, sister you would be freer to pursue your own hunts if you would at least fake your way up through the ranks... doing the lower-tier missions must be proving exceptionally boring for one of your stature and strength, after all." "Is that a hint of mockery again, Mourning Wind?" Sol Seraph asked quietly, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Mourning Wind only smiled calmly, contritely at her. "Rank does not matter to me. I am not here to serve the Order of the Seraphim. The Order serves my interests, that is all: we have discussed this in the past." "We have, and I said you sounded like a traitor then and you sound like a traitor now." the stallion replied easily, his voice less-threatening and more taunting than anything else. "You also sound like you're whining, to be entirely honest. Whining, just like Ardor whines until he gets his way. Of course, all things considered, maybe what you're really after is exile from the Order, so you and your precious husband can run away together." Sol Seraph trembled with fury, her eyes cold, her teeth slowly gritting before she asked in a slow, dangerous voice: "And what exactly makes you think I will permit even you to get away with saying these things to me?" "The fact that it is the truth. The fact that you have become a coward." Mourning Wind replied coldly, leaning forwards as his own eyes narrowed dangerously. "And the fact that I am a First rank and the highest you've ever been is Second, little sister. To me, you're no predator... you're just prey that amuses me." Sol Seraph snorted in disgust and turned away, saying distastefully as she focused her eyes ahead: "And then perhaps I should take the coward's path and simply report that dagger you've hidden away to one of the other Praetors." Mourning Wind snarled and lunged at her back... just as Sol Seraph had expected him to. She immediately and easily intercepted the attack, swinging both rear legs up and not kicking out, but instead catching his neck between her limbs and twisting savagely to slam the stallion back down into the ground as he cursed in shock even as he brought one of his own front limbs quickly up in front of his neck to stop her from throttling him. All the same, Sol Seraph's legs locked tightly into place around him as she sat up and slammed her front hooves viciously back and forth across his face, then she glanced sharply up as the stallion half-rolled and kicked both rear legs hard towards her. She was prepared for the attack, however, easily twisting out of the path of one hoof and blocking the other with a forelimb as her other front hoof curled around and slammed into the back of his knee, making him wince and bend his leg automatically... before her other front hoof swung in a vicious punch directly into his kneecap, Mourning Wind's eyes bulging with horror as he felt it dislodge, giving a short cry of pain and shock. Sol Seraph dove forwards as she felt the stallion lose his focus to the pain, past the male's own legs as her own rear limbs stayed locked tightly around his neck and upper leg, and the stallion had a moment of stupefaction before the Pegasus flapped her wings to give herself an extra boost into the ground, forcing herself to roll and lashing both legs out to hurl Mourning Wind into the wall. The stallion was flung like a toy, crashing off the solid stone only a few feet away with a gargle and falling weakly to his haunches, bleeding heavily as he shivered once before looking up weakly as Sol Seraph calmly approached, then punched him hard enough to drive his face into the wall, leaving a smear of red as he flinched and shivered weakly. "I told you not to talk about my husband." Sol Seraph said quietly, looking down at him with disappointment before she slammed her hoof into his face again, jarring his head painfully off the wall once more. "Do not threaten me. Do not antagonize me. Do not mock me. And most of all, do not think yourself superior to me." Each point was emphasized with another punch, except for the last, which instead she struck him twice for... and then the mare rose her hoof and brought a brutal hammer-strike crashing down on the end of Mourning Wind's muzzle, cracking the bone and driving him to the ground as he let out a cry of agony, clutching at his profusely-bleeding nose as the Pegasus looked down and said disgustedly: "Weak. Pathetic. I thought better of you. I suppose it's clear now that I thought wrong, brother." Mourning Wind only closed his eyes, bowing his head forwards with a tremble before Sol Seraph shook her own slowly and turned around, adding contemptibly: "Do not contact me again. I have no urge to talk to anything as useless as you." With that, the Pegasus let herself out, ignoring the fellow pony as he weakly tried to say something, but it didn't matter to her: whether it had been for business or polite conversation, she no longer had any interest in dealing with the stallion when he had failed to even provide a suitable fight. She looked moodily back and forth as she strode away from the door, before her eyes slipped towards a large crowd that had gathered in a circle around the center of the Congregation Hall, from all the different sects of the Order, and she allowed herself to be drawn moodily towards this as a voice announced clearly: "-their rite of initiation: they must prove themselves worthy, that they are ready to be counted among the strongest of Equestria, by surviving a sparring session with a warrior already in our ranks!" Sol Seraph shoved her way through the crowd, not caring who she pushed or how hard she pushed them: a few glared at her, but when they realized who was passing them by, they more often than not quickly turned their eyes away. She frowned out at the ring of mats that had been set up and the six new candidates: two unicorns and four Pegasi. They did not permit earth ponies in their ranks: in fact, most of the Order still considered earth ponies to be nothing more than slave hoofs... and that Celestia, for whatever divinity she possessed, was not only weak, but insane for preaching her message of equality between all ponies. One Pegasus stepped forwards proudly, grinning widely as he looked back and forth: handsome, enormous, his wings broad and body ivory-white, his mane the same vibrant red as his confident eyes, his cutie mark a simple red star. In other words, he bore many similarities to Sol Seraph... but as most of the sects were made up of family members, it wasn't much of a surprise. But it was the name that brought it all back to her... "The first to be initiated is Crimson Flare. His challenger is-" "I will challenge him. He is my cousin, and the son of my uncle, Praetor Ghostwing." Sol Seraph said calmly, stepping forwards into the circle, and the unicorn that had been making the announcement looked nervously up, his hoof raised and other ponies whispering worriedly even as Crimson only grinned wider. "It is only fair, is it not, Paladin? I am a Fourth Rank. It is within my right to request." "Cousins, are we? I accept, but don't think it means anything to me... Sol Seraph. I have never heard your name mentioned in my home, so I don't think my father will mind when I crush you beneath my hooves!" Crimson said eagerly, stepping forwards as the other initiates were waved backwards, and Sol Seraph only smiled thinly at the male. As he moved, frantic with energy and hungry for the fight, the golden Pegasus could already tell the stallion would be easy prey. "I am not surprised." Sol Seraph said softly, and the male only laughed even as the unicorn Paladin stepped nervously forwards, giving her an imploring look that she met for a moment before disdainfully flicking her eyes back towards Crimson. He approached, and the two bowed their heads calmly before the unicorn Paladin said clearly despite his obvious misgivings: "Then, if all is settled... let the fight begin!" Crimson lunged forwards almost before the unicorn was done speaking, eagerly shoving himself up to his rear hooves and slamming a volley of hard blows directly into Sol Seraph's face, and the mare grimaced as she staggered backwards, pain coursing through her... but pain had never been unwelcome. Pain had never been an enemy: when she was a foal, when she had been weak, she hadn't understood then, but as she'd grown older it had all become so clear to her, and after her mind understood, her body had begun to understand as well: pain was more familiar to her and more welcome than even pleasure. Crimson ran forwards, making a wide, obvious hook, and Sol Seraph let it slam into her cheek, tilting her head and drawing away slightly to reduce the force of the blow and avoid it from possibly damaging her cheekbone. Simple, easy movements that went completely unnoticed by Crimson but other members of the Order clearly saw as they whispered nervously between themselves before the Pegasus stallion lunged upwards and flapped his wings hard, swinging both rear legs towards her in a vicious but slow kick. Sol Seraph blocked this with her bracer-covered forearms, hooves banging loudly and uselessly against steel as the stallion flung himself backwards to land easily near the edge of the ring with a wide grin, eyes blazing. "How pathetic! How did a weakling like you ever become a member of the Order?" The golden Pegasus narrowed her eyes slightly, and then Crimson grinned as he leapt forwards before strafing back and forth, but his quick-stepping was wide and obvious... amateur at best. But her uncle had always been soft... not like her father, who had always been hard on her. Who had been almost cruel, in fact... and she was glad every day for that now, that he had trained any attachment to him she might have had out of her, that he had made her cold, strong, and ruthless, that he had taught her through punishment and pain instead of reward and kindness... Crimson lunged at her legs, and Sol Seraph leapt easily into the air, gracefully twisting her body to land on all four hooves before the Pegasus scrambled around in a circle and lurched at her, reminding her all too clearly of a stupid, greedy mongrel dog as he brought his hooves up and then swung them savagely downwards, and Sol Seraph leaned backwards slightly so the blow only clipped her shoulders: it still carried enough forced to knock her stumbling, and Crimson grinned as he swung a hoof in an uppercut, doing a shabby job of reversing his own momentum and the blow little effective before his other hoof shot up and seized her by the throat, dragging her in before her eyes widened when he spat in her face, holding her in place as he said contemptibly: "What a pathetic piece of trash. What a worthless mare!" He brought a hoof back... and Sol Seraph took the first blow, then the second without twitching, still staring at him with disbelief. Had he actually dared to spit on her? His words served no tactical purpose, he was merely mocking her for the sake of mocking her... and slowly, she snarled even as his hoof crashed a third time into her eye, but she barely winced despite the bruising over her face before he shoved her backwards and said disgustedly: "Go ahead and forfeit, I'll even take on another warrior if this is all you have to offer!" The Paladin began to step forwards angrily, but then he winced as Sol Seraph calmly cracked her neck before looking coldly up, her eyes burning out of her bruised features as she said darkly: "Let us begin." "But... she's lost, she's losing, isn't she?" whispered one of the uninitiated nervously towards a Pegasus with blue bracers: while his comrades were cheering for Crimson, the unicorn had picked up on the distinct unease growing in the air and the way stoic faces around the circle had become marred with apprehension. "She's losing, right?" "No. She's playing with him, toying with him... your friend has lost. Pray that defeat is all he suffers." murmured the Pegasus in return, his eyes locking on Sol Seraph as Crimson rushed towards her. Then Sol Seraph gave a short, cold smile, and Crimson had a moment to frown before a hoof flicked him under the chin just hard enough to make him look up slightly before a volley of blows smashed back and forth across his face, the stallion losing his focus and staggering back and forth as he shook his head wildly, yelling in dumb surprise before he threw himself backwards, agony ripping through his system as Sol Seraph landed calmly back on all fours. He stared at her with disbelief, drool and blood slowly dripping from his mouth before the mare leaned forwards and said coldly: "You are slow. Your movements are direct and childish. You do not possess even your father's level of skill." Crimson snarled at this, lunging forwards and swinging a leg up and outwards... and Sol Seraph easily caught it in both of her own front limbs, Crimson's eyes widening before she twisted hard and slammed him onto his back. The stallion cursed... then screamed when Sol Seraph continued to twist savagely, dislocating his shoulder before she jerked firmly forwards even as the unicorn Paladin shouted at her to stop, before all eyes stared in horror as she twisted again and dislocated the bones at the elbow as well, the limb looking horribly, unnaturally stretched and distorted as Crimson shrieked in agony and Sol Seraph murmured: "My. Now who's the worthless mare?" Then the Pegasus suddenly leaned forwards, pushing the dislocated, stretched leg of the stallion back over his own shoulder, as she twisted viciously yet again, and his screaming reached new levels before the unicorn Paladin leapt forwards and shouted furiously at Sol Seraph: "That's enough! Release him, now!" Sol Seraph's eyes slowly flicked towards the Paladin as he glared at her, stomping one black-bracer-covered leg, and for a moment longer the mare held the stallion's leg in place as he screamed and shook his head wildly, kicking uselessly at the floor before she simply dropped it, and his limb flopped to the ground with a sickening thud as he gave another cry of agony that turned into a whimpering moan. Sol Seraph calmly turned her back, striding away in disgust as several ponies hurried in around the wounded male, and then one of them looked up and whispered in the horrified silence: "The... the damage is too severe. We'll have to... amputate." Crimson sobbed, dropping low, tears flowing down his cheeks as his limb shuddered: twisted violently, bones dislodged and at least one fractured, bleeding heavily from the way the limb had been twisted and jerked and contorted so violently near the shoulder that flesh had torn like paper, a pool of crimson spreading slowly beneath him as he shuddered weakly. The unicorn Paladin stared for a moment at this, then he snarled, looking towards Sol Seraph and asking furiously: "What made you think this was necessary? He was your own cousin!" "So what? I did him a favor." Sol Seraph said coldly, looking disgustedly over her shoulder at the crying, trembling Pegasus. "He was weak. He was unskilled. He would not have lasted long in our ranks and he would have soiled what the Order is supposed to stand for. He would have been shortly killed or dishonored. Now he will live." "You completely destroyed one of his limbs!" the unicorn retorted, gesturing violently towards Crimson and looking horrified. "That is no mercy, that is-" "That is mercy. I could have easily killed him." Sol Seraph smiled thinly, reaching up and sweeping her mane calmly back. "I could have also done far worse." "Sol Seraph, you are not beyond the rules and laws of this Order, whatever you think... you have crippled the child of a Praetor of your own sect, and during an initiation rite no less... do you not think there will be punishment for this transgression? Do you not think your father-" The Pegasus mare only snorted coldly, however, saying distastefully: "The Praetor will not complain that I have crippled the heir of his brother. And my uncle should thank me. I saved his son's life." She paused, then turned around, the crowd parting for her as she made her way towards the exit and said clearly: "Let the Order punish me as it will. It does not matter to me. If sniveling, weakling cowards are what the Order looks to kowtow and enshrine within its ranks... then I have no more urge to serve this once-noble band of warriors and hunters turned into crying foals and frail ponies." There were snarls, and the unicorn Paladin's eyes glowed with fury as he stepped forwards before muttering as the Pegasus calmly shoved her way through the doors leading out: "Oh, mark my words, there will be punishment, Sol Seraph. By the Horses of Heaven I guarantee it." Top ↑ Category:Transcript